AAPI advocates challenge Trump and GOP seeking to suppress voting

ANALYSIS

In yet another attempted power grab and effort to intimidate immigrant communities, which historically voted Democratic, Donald Trump signed last week an executive order misleadingly titled, “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections.”

The order, signed March 25, threatens our democracy by intending to require burdensome documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote, encouraging the purging of eligible voters from error-prone database comparisons, and attempting to pressure states from counting mail-in and absentee ballots properly mailed on Election Day. 

 “We are dismayed by President Trump’s attempt to undermine civic engagement and vilify immigrant communities, including Asian Americans. Voting is a fundamental right, not a privilege, for all who are eligible, and all eligible votes must be counted during elections," said Asian Americans Advancing Justice in a statement

"Documentary proof of citizenship, like a passport, is onerous because many Americans don’t have it readily available or even handy when they register to vote."

FYI: Read the lawsuit, League of Women Voters et. al. v. Trump et. al.:, 

The Constitution clearly specifies that Congress and the states can set the rules for our elections, not the President. 

Nevertheless, the White House claims that the executive order is necessarily to prevent noncitizens from voting even though there is no evidence they do in significant numbers in the United States. The order threatens states that do not comply with the loss of federal funding.

Will Scharf, the White House staff secretary, called the order “the farthest-reaching executive action taken” in the country’s history.

The Order’s misguided focus on database matching is alarming because it is prone to errors due to outdated and contradictory information," responds AAAJ. "We know that these Homeland Security databases generally don’t contain information about US-born citizens. As a result, those who are caught in this unwarranted fishing expedition are most likely to be eligible voters who are naturalized citizens. Past attempts to match voter lists at the state level have already erroneously removed many eligible voters."

“This executive order is rooted in baseless rhetoric around voter fraud and noncitizen voting, which is extremely rare, proving yet again that the ultimate goal of this administration is to prevent American citizens who are disfavored by this Administration from voting," says AAAJ. 

"This executive order comes from the same xenophobic impulse as the suspension of federal grants to community organizations helping immigrants naturalize. We saw that same rhetoric in the attempt to slash the Constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship. We stand firm in our commitment to protecting vulnerable communities and making sure that every eligible individual can make their voice heard at the ballot box.”

AAAJ is part of a coalition filing the lawsuit challenging Trump’s unlawful executive order. Other groups in the coalition include Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote, Organization of Chinese Associations-Asian Pacific American Advocates and a host of other civil rights organizations including the Hispanic Federation, National League of Women Voters, League of Women Voters of Arizona, League of Women Voters Education Fund, NAACP, the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law, American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of D.C., the Legal Defense Fund, and LatinoJustice PRLDEF.

The groups are challenging the order’s usurpation of powers, including its directive for the US Election Assistance Commission to change the federal voter registration form to require burdensome submission of documents to prove citizenship, which many Americans do not have or cannot easily acquire.

Under current law, would-be voters are required to swear, under penalty of perjury, that they are US citizens and eligible to vote, and to provide a driver's license number, state ID number or Social Security number. Those who attempt to vote illegally can face prison time, fines or deportation.

Several audits by nonpartisan groups and states, including those that voted for Trump and even the conservative think-tank, the Heritage Foundation, have not found any evidence that noncitizens are registering to vote at significant rates.

The coalition which filed the lawsuit against the executive order, released the following joint statement:

“The president has no constitutional or statutory authority to unilaterally dictate how elections are run. This executive order is a blatant violation of the separation of powers. Election rules are decided by Congress and the states, and any attempt by the executive branch to override their power violates the Constitution. This order, based on a persistent false and racialized narrative, could disenfranchise millions of eligible voters. It mirrors the SAVE Act, which would add unnecessary barriers to voter registration and silence the voices of American citizens. These unlawful attacks on voting rights are part of a broader effort to undermine our democracy. We have filed suit to stop this executive order and to keep it from interfering with eligible voters’ participation in our elections.”

The executive order and the SAVE Act are just one facet of the overall Republican strategy to weaken the Democratic voters influence. The GOP depends on voter suppression to narrow the margin between Democrats and Republicans because there are more people registered Democrat than Republican. In addition to presenting obstacles to voting and making large portions of the US citizenry ineligible to vote, the GOP use a barrage of lies and misinformation to woo voters to more conservatie policies and Republican candidates.

Prior to a vote on the Executive Order, also known as the SAVE Act, Rep. Terri Sewell n, D-Alabama, sargued against the bill on the House floor on April 1: 

"In reality, this legislation would purge thousands of eligible voters from the rolls. It would create significant barriers for the 69 million women who currently got married and changed their last names, so their birth certificates do not match their marriage certificates, and thus it would be harder for these women, almost 70 million women, to vote, and the 140 million Americans that do not have a passport, and those with military IDs and tribal IDs, none of which would be able to prove their birth citizenship. These are not included in the bill as proper forms of ID that will allow someone to show their citizenship."

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X or at the blog Views From the Edge.

 

Ice skater Alyssa Liu's trimphant return to the rink garners a gold medal

Alysa Liu couldn't believe her own performance at the World's Skating Championship.

At the ripe, old age of 19, ice skater Alysa Liu came out of retirement. On Friday, she won the gold medal at the 2025 ISU World Figure Skating Championships.

"This means so much to me after everything that I've been through," Liu said at the press conference after her championship performance Friday in Boston. "My last skating experience, my time away... and (now) this time around. I'm so happy... I'm mostly glad that I could put out two of my best performances."

After two years away from the sport, Liu became the first US woman to win a world title in 19 years.

After finished seventh at the 2022 Winter Olympics in in Beijing, the best finish of the the three US women, followed by a bronze at World's, the then-16-year old surprised everyon by announcing she decided to hang up her skates.

Up until then, she was on the brightest stars in the US. She expected to compete for the gold medal after beicoming the yuongest woman to win the US championship title when she was 13. A year later, she was the first American to do the quadruple jump.

When she made her retirement announcement, Liu, who had been skating since age 5 and trained in Oakland, Calif., said that she had reached all of her skating goals and was ready to move with her life.

Before enrolling at UCLA as a freshman, a ski tirp to Lake Tahoe sparked the realization that she loved being an athlete. From there, a few calls to former coaches and she began her journey to get back into competition shape.

FYI: US ice dance team capture gold medal

“Moments like these make me realize 16-year-old me was so right,” she said. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t decide to retire for a little bit. So I’m glad that I listened to myself.”

With her victory at Worlds, Liu joins the elite company of American women who have won the world title, including Tenley Albright, Carol Heiss, Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hamill, Linda Fratianne, Elaine Zayak, Rosalynn Sumners, Jill Trenary, Kristi Yamaguchi, Michelle Kwan, Tara Lipinski and Kimmie Meissner.

With the gold medal in her pocket, Liu has set herself up for the Olympics that will be held in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy in 2026.

Her performance in the long skate was nearly flawless using seven triple jumps to cement her victory. After her skate, she couldn't believe her accomplishment, ecclaiming, "What the hell!" repeatedly all the way back to her coaches.

“That was the best performance I’ve laid down all season, even my practice programs have not been that good,” she treporters after her winning performance. “I really thought if I did clean skates I’d be hopefully top 10, definitely not first. This moment is so unreal, that’s the only word I can use to describe it. I still have to process it to be honest.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X or at the blog Views From the Edge.

Madison Chock and partner win 3rd straight gold at World's Figure Skating championship

The US ice dance team of Evan Bates and Madison Chock finished their performance at World''s.

It seems that the ice dance team of Madison Chock and Evan Bates have been around for years. And, they have!

Chock and Bates won their third straight gold medal at the 2025 ISU World Figure Skating Championships on Saturday (March 2).

“This one definitely feels extra special. To do it in front of a home crowd and to have two of our best skates of the season, I don't think we could have done anything better than that,” Chock said. 

“To have the programs come to fruition like you imagine them at the beginning of the season and to execute them like that at the world championships is a dream come true and one that we've worked really hard for.”

Madison's full name is Madison La'akea Te-Lan Hall Chock, reflecting her Chinese-Hawaiian heritage on her father's side.

        FYI: Ice figure skater Alysa Liu back from her retirement

In winning their third crown at World's, Chock and Bates, became the most decorated US ice dance team at the World Championships in history, became the first US ice dance team ever to win three World titles and the first ice dance team to three-peat worldwide. With three golds, a silver, and two bronze medals, the duo has brought home hardware from half of their dozen appearances in the global championships.

“This has been such a magical week,” Chock said in the press conference after their winning performance. 

“We had two incredible skates. I could not be prouder of Evan, and I am so grateful for our coaching team and our family and friends who have supported us. It’s certainly not easy to do this and chase your dreams year after year, so we are just grateful and appreciative to everyone who has helped us on this journey.”

The three-peat makes the husband-wife team and marks them as gold medal favourites heading into the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games to win the ice dancing gold medal, an accomplishment that has eluded them in the past four  Olympics.

"We're going to soak this one in for now," Bates said. "Certainly our goal is to be on top of the podium in Milan. This doesn't really change that."

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X or at the blog Views From the Edge.

Trump's attempt to undermine the courts is "unlawful and dangerous," says AG Bonta

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, right, challenges many of Donald Trump policies.

Donald Trump's attacks against the judiciary are "unlawful and dangerous," says California Attorney General Rob Bonta.

Bonta, the state's first Filipino Amerifcan AG and California's top law officer, continues to challenge Trump's flurry of executive orders and actions. 

“More than two centuries ago, our founding fathers established three co-equal branches of government; each branch designed to act as a check on the others and curb the misuse of power by those in higher office. Today, that foundational tenet of American democracy is being stress-tested," says Bonta.

Trump's administration is frustrated with the legal challenges against Trump's attempts to drastically downsize the federal government and the vital services it provides for trhe safety and health of Americans. Most recently, when Homeland Security went against a judges' orders by deporting to El Salvador, hundreds of allegedly members of a Venezuelan gang.

Last Saturday, March 22, federal authorities flew the Venezuelans to El Salvador in the dead of night and without providing evidence of their gang membership and denying them their rights to defend themselves in court.

The deportation charters flew the Venezuelans to El Salvador, which agreed to receive the gang suspects after getting $6-million from the US, according to th White House.

Trump justified the deportations by invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 — the sme law ussed to incarcerate 120,000 Japanese Americans during WWII — to deport the gang suspects. Japanese Americans and immigration advocates say the use of Alien Enemies Act in this case is illegal since it is only meant to to be used in wartime.

US District Judge James Boasberg agreed and issued an order hours after Trump invoked the wartime power stopping the administration from using it to deport anyone. However, by the time the judge's order was given, the deportees were already in the air and Trump officials, believing they were above the law, ignored the judge's order and continued onto El Salvador.

 
The judge's order sparked anger within the White House Trump and his followers argued that a district judge should not beallowed to affect national security. Some members of Congress are calling to impeach Boasberg.

"The Trump Administration has repeatedly attempted to exercise authority it does not have – authority that belongs to Congress or the states – and in doing so, violated clear legal requirements set forth in the law and in the US. Constitution," says Bonta. "These actions have required the co-equal judicial branch to order the Trump Administration to follow the law. At times, the Trump Administration has acted in contravention of those court orders.

The Venezuelans deported by Trump are being housed in an El Salvador facility.

"These actions are both unlawful and dangerous," he stressed. "Our constitutional democracy rests upon a legal system in which attorneys dutifully represent their clients, facts and law are presented to judges, and after careful consideration, those judges issue orders that must be followed.

"Attacks to undermine due process, discredit or intimidate our independent judiciary, undercut state sovereignty, or seek retribution against those who dare exercise their First Amendment right to take positions different from – or in opposition to – the President are either unlawful, inconsistent with the foundational principles of our American legal system, or both," Bonta says in a statement issued from California's Department of Justice.

"President Trump’s demands for the co-equal judiciary to capitulate to the executive branch are not normal. His decree threatening sanctions and retaliation against attorneys and law firms he dislikes is not normal. These actions threaten the very foundations of our democracy, legal system, and the rule of law," Bonta continues.

Bonta, along with 20 other Attorney's General, have banded together to challenge several of Trump's initiatives to whittle down the United States' democracy. Besides his immigration policies, they have filed lawsuits to counter the dismantling the Department of Education and Trump's desire to get rid of birthright citizenship, which is written into law by the Constitution.

"We must continue to speak up and push back when our democratic norms are violated, our legal system undermined, and our laws broken. We must hold the President and his Administration accountable to the Constitution they swore to uphold. As California Attorney General, I promise I will,” vowed Bonta.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X or at the blog Views From the Edge.

Good news, bad news on 'Crazy Rich Asians'

The "Crazy Rich Asians" cast at the movie's premiere in 2018.

First,the good news: the streaming network Max has ordered a television series based on the box office hit motion picture Crazy Rich Asians which in turn was based on the Kevin Kwan trilogy of novels.

The bad news? The decision to pursue a a TV series may dampen the possibility of a movie sequel.

It has been six years since the groundbreaking movie busted Asian steretotypes and broke open the doors for more Hollywood studio-backed movies for Asian and Asian American actors and storylines.

The Crazy Rich Asians romantic comedy opened the eyes of studio decision makers. Before CRA became a critical and commercial success, the belief in Hollywood was that no one would go see a movie with an Asian theme with an all-Asian cast. It was entertaining but all the while, breaking down stereotypes with multi-dimensional and complicated characters.

The TV spinoff of Crazy Rich Asians was ordered by Max, according to The Hollywood Reporter. It's early in production but it has a good start by bringing in Jon M. Chu, who directed the movie, and Adele Lim, who helped write the film's script providing invaluable cultural input.

Chu, is also executive producer for the series, told The Hollywood Reporter:

“I don’t know if it’s in lieu of a sequel but it felt clear that every character we wanted to explore needed more room and just a movie wasn’t doing it for us. We got to bring Adele back into the fold and so we’re starting this now, it’s going to be fun.”

Lim was in the middle of controversy when it was learned that her co-writer, Peter Chiarelli, was being paid substantially more than she was earning. Because of the inequality, Lim refused to work on the screenplay of the planned sequel, which was suuposed to be based on the second book of Kwan's trilogy.

In the article, Chu noted that a television series would allow the multitude of characters from the movie could be fleshed out.

“I don’t know if it’s in lieu of a sequel but it felt clear that every character we wanted to explore needed more room and just a movie wasn’t doing it for us,” the director revealed.

The success of the movie also delayed work on the sequel. Chu became heavy in demand as director of Hollywood musicals working on In the Heights, and the two movies of Wicked and has been dubbed to helm the upcoming project Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Some of the lead actors have been so busy it puts into question of their availability for the series or the sequel.

Michelle Yeo, who played the matriarch of an uber-rich Singaporean family, was deluged with work in the Star Trek: Discovery series and its spinoff Star Trek: Section 31. Everywhere one turned Yeo had a new movie prmiering topped with Everything, Everywhere All At Once, which won a Best Picture Oscar earned Yeo an Academy Award as Best Actress. She reunited with Jon Chu for Wicked and starred in Avatar 3, Haunting Venice and others.

Many of the actors had their careers kick off  because of their roles in Crazy Rich Asians. Awkwafina, who played the best friend of Constance Wu's charactar Constance, got a TV series of her own, Nora from Queens and a lead role in another Asian theme and Asian cast, Farewell, for which she praise for her dramatic debut, a contrast to the comedic roles for she is best known; Shang-Chi and the Legend of 10 Rings; and a host of toher projects includng: Oceans Eight, Jackpot, and a host of  voice wor on animated features.

Henry Golding, who was among the men in CRA that busted the stereotype of sexless Asian, ganrered another romantic leading role in Last Christmas opposite Game of Thrones' Emilia Clarke and A Simple Favor with Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick, an in the atmospheric Monsoon played a Vietnamese man returning to the country of his parents. He starred in action movies such as Snake Eyes and The Gentlemen. 

In an exclusive interview, Golding told ETonline.com that he would love to work on the sequel or the series. “We’ll see. I think they’re sort of figuring it out—very, very early stages. That’s what I know, to be honest."

Gemma Chan, who played a supporting role in CRA as the beautiful wife of a businessman, was supposed to have a more prominent role in the sequel. Because of of CRA's breakout opportunity, she has been busy. Chan’s subsequent roles included in Mary, Queen of Scots and Minn-Erva in the Marvel film Captain Marvel. and Sersi in Eternals. She had roles in Don’t Worry, Darling and The Creator. She also provided the voice for the warrior princess Namaari in Disney's animated feature Raya and the Last Dragon.

Harry Shum Jr., who was supposed to play opposite Gemma Chan in the CRA sequel is in his second season in Grey's Anatomy; Sonoya Mizuno secured a recurring role in Game of Thrones spinoff The House of the Dragon; Ken Jeong is a favorite in the TV reality competition The Masked Singer; Ronny Chieng is currently on tour but is a regular in The Daily Show.

Jon M Chu, 45, has maintained his ties with the author Kwan. Together, they are working on a Broadway musical of Crazy Rich Asians.

Chu still retains hope that a sequel will eventually come about.

In November last year, he told The Hollywood Reporter that he was willing to make a Crazy Rich Asians 2 if the opportunity arises and the original cast members are available.

"I always promised the cast, I will not bring them back unless we get a script that’s better and has as much urgency as the first movie," he told the publication, adding that at the moment, "we just haven’t gotten there yet."

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X or at the blog Views From the Edge.

JACL strongly condemns law used to incarcerate Japanese Americans and deport foreign nationals

SEATTLE TIMES

During the Day of Remembrance in February, Seattle's Japanese Americans reenact their community's WWII incarceration justified by the Alien Enemies Act.

Donald Trump dredged up awful memories for Japanese Americans when he used the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport alleged gang members to El Salvador.

That is the same law used by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to imprison thousands of Japanese Americans during WWII. It is no wonder that the Japanese American Citizens League issued a strong response condemning Trump use of a wartime act that should be aboilished.

On March 15th, Donald Trumpinvoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, specifically targeting foreign nationals from Venezuela who are alleged members of the Trend de Aragua criminal organization. The Alien Enemies Act was last used to intern 31,000 Japanese, German, and Italian nationals during WWII.

"As the Japanese American community knows, the scope was expanded to include United States citizens through Executive Order 9066 leading to the incarceration of over 125,000 people of Japanese ancestry," said a statement from the JACL.

"We fear that the Venezuelan immigrant community is now being similarly targeted through the unlawful use and expansion of the Alien Enemies Act."

Trump's action is the fourth invocation of the Alien Enemies Act in the history of the United States, however, this is the only time outside of wartime. Under the newly signed Executive Order, “Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act Regarding the Invasion of The United States by Tren De Aragua”, any Venezuelan national over the age of 14, who is alleged to have ties to the Tren de Aragua gang is subject to be arrested, detained, and deported regardless of their immigration status."

Not only is this an unlawful use of the Alien Enemies Act, outside the scope of wartime, but is overly broad and can be used to target individuals with no proven connection to Tren de Agua except through their Venezuelan citizenship, the JACL emphasized.

Judge D.C. Chief District Judge James Boasberg intervened and issued a temporary restraining order to block the deportation of any individuals under the authority of this executive order and called for a plane carrying deportees to immediately return to the United States. In what would be especially egregious behavior, the Trump administration may have blatantly ignored the judge’s orders and carried out deportations on Saturday under the authority of the Alien Enemies Act.

Last February, Japanese Americans demonstrated outside the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma protesting the deportation policies  and actions of the Trump administration. 

The Trump administration's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act is unconstitutional and continues the deeply racist and xenophobic legacy of Japanese American incarceration during WWII. The danger of the Alien Enemies Acts is the power granted to the President to circumvent the constitutional rights to due process for immigrants under the guise of national security.

As it was revealed after World War II, Japanese Americans posed no security threat, and many Japanese Americans served with distinction to defeat the Axis powers, even as their families remained imprisoned behind barbed wire in American concentration camps.

"We call for the administration to comply fully with the temporary restraining order and halt any deportations under the proposed authority of the Alien Enemies Act. The alleged blatant disregard for Judge Boasberg’s orders to turn the plane carrying deportees around cannot be tolerated in a nation of laws," says the JACL. "The Alien Enemies Act cannot be invoked without a declaration of war, an act that only Congress can take. 

During the Day of Remembrance in February, northwestern Japanese Americans demonstrated at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Immigrant rights leader Maru Mora Villalpando of La Resistencia leads the crowd in chants of “Chinga la Migra!” and “Shut it down!”

Meanwhile, Boasberg and the DOJ have been jousting over the legality of the deportation process by the Trump administration. The legal question raised by the use of the Alien Enemies Act is whether the government can summarily deport people without an "individualized assessment of their status," Judge Boasberg said March 22, raising questions about due process for the migrants. He asked the government, "What happens if someone is not a member of Tren de Aragua or not a Venezuelan citizen or a U.S. citizen? How do they challenge their removal?" The DOJ did not issue a response.

Boasberg said the government can continue to deport immigrants, but it may not do so under the Alien Enemies Act. "It's important for the public to make sure those facts are clear," he said. He expressed concern that the proclamation was "essentially signed in the dark" on a Saturday and then the migrants were "rushed onto planes."

He asked whether the Trump administration had invoked the act quietly because it believes it to be problematic. TheDOJ declined to say more. Boasberg noted that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, "had advance notice of this proclamation because it's impossible this could have happened within two hours."

The JACL calls for Congress to pass the Neighbors Not Enemies Act, which would repeal the Alien Enemies Act to ensure that Trump or any other future President cannot abuse the law and further desecrate the Constitution.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X or at the blog Views From the Edge.

Indian American astronaut returns to earth after 9 months in space

NASA

Suni Williams spent 286 days at the International Space Station.

Astronaut Suni Williams was expecting to stay at the International Space Station only a few days. Nine months later the Indian American is back on solid ground along with fellow NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Butch Wilmore and cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 completed the agency’s ninth commercial crew rotation mission to the International Space Station on Tuesday, splashing down safely in a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, in the Gulf of America.

The four returned to Earth Tuesday (March 18) at 5:57 p.m. EDT. Teams aboard SpaceX recovery vessels retrieved the spacecraft and its crew off the coast of Florida.  After returning to shore, the crew will fly to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and reunite with their families.

“We are thrilled to have Suni, Butch, Nick, and Aleksandr home after their months-long mission conducting vital science, technology demonstrations, and maintenance aboard the International Space Station,” said NASA acting Administrator Janet Petro. “Through preparation, ingenuity, and dedication, we achieve great things together for the benefit of humanity, pushing the boundaries of what is possible from low Earth orbit to the Moon and Mars.”

Williams and Wilmore were selected for the first crewed test flight on Boeing's Starliner and were only supposed to stay at the ISS for 10 days, but when NASA discovered several helium leaks in the spacecraft, NASA decided not to risk the astronauts' lives and sent the vehicle back empty.

Williams was born in Euclid, Ohio, the daughter of Dr. Deepak and Bonnie Pandya. Her father is from Gujarat, India. He studied medicine in the US where he eventualljoined the Euclid department of anatomy at Case Western Reserve University. Her mother, whose maiden name was Bonnie Zalokar, grew up in Northeast Ohio and is of Slovenian descent.

The family moved to Boston in 1966, where her father was able to find work. They lived in Needham, Massachusetts, which Williams said she considers to be her hometown, according to the Times of India. 

NASA

Suni Williams was noted for her hair floating free in the weightless environment.

She graduated from high school there and obtained an undergraduate degree from Annapolis, the US Naval Academy. After graduating as an ensign, she became a Navy test pilot. She also holds a Master of Science in Engineering Management from Florida Institute of Technology.

During her unexpected nine-month space mission, she joined the other astronauts in  conducting experiments in the weightless environment. 

On her 59th birthday on Sept. 19, Williams was able to enjoy Kaju Katli, a popular Indian sweet, sent to her by her sister-in-law via an unmanned supply rocket.

Besides her latest sting in space, Williams was part of two earlier missions. Williams has logged 608 days in space over her three flights, and performed three space walks. She now holds the record for total spacewalking time by a female astronaut, with 62 hours and 6 minutes outside of station, and is fourth on the all-time spacewalk duration list.

The astronauts will undergo a 45-day recovery period as they adjust to Earth's gravity, before returning to their normal duties and reunite with their families.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X or at the blog Views From the Edge.

Big differences found in heart and stroke risks among AANHPIgroups

Originally published by the American Heart Asociation
Reprinted by Permission

The frequency of traditional cardiovascular risk factors, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, and the overall risk of having a heart attack or stroke varies greatly among Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander populations, even though these groups are usually grouped together for research purposes, new research shows.

The findings were presented last week at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Scientific Sessions in New Orleans. They are considered preliminary until full results are published in a peer-reviewed journal.

The practice of aggregating data for these distinct groups "masks important variations in both risk factor prevalence and disease burden," lead study author Rishi V. Parikh said in a news release. Parikh is a senior research analyst at the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research in Pleasanton.

"Despite being the fastest-growing population in the U.S., existing studies about Asian subgroups remain limited by inadequate sample size and exclusion of some major disaggregated subgroups, as well as a lack of long-term follow-up," he said.

Prior research has noted differences among AANHPI subgroups, including a higher death rate from cardiovascular disease in Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander adults compared to non-Hispanic white adults in the U.S.

In the new study – the Pacific Islander, Native Hawaiian and Asian American Cardiovascular Health Epidemiology, or PANACHE – researchers analyzed health records from 2012 to 2022 for more than 2.6 million adults in large, private health systems in California and Hawaii who were an average of 49 years old with no history of heart attack, stroke, heart failure or atrial fibrillation. About 677,500 participants self-identified as Chinese, Filipino, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, other Southeast Asian (including Thai, Laotian, Cambodian, Hmong, Burmese, Indonesian, Malaysian or Singaporean) or South Asian (including Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi, Nepali or Bhutanese).

Researchers compared the prevalence of traditional cardiovascular risk factors, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, Type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease and smoking, among adults belonging to a single AANHPI subgroup to nearly 2 million non-Hispanic white adults in the same health system database. They also used the AHA's PREVENT risk calculator to predict the participants' 10-year risk for a cardiovascular event.



Compared to non-Hispanic white adults, all AANHPI subgroups had higher rates of diabetes and high cholesterol, and all but Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander adults had lower rates of smoking. But there were significant variations among subgroups in the prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors.

High blood pressure ranged from 12% of Chinese adults to a high of 30% among Filipino adults. Chinese and Filipino adults also had the lowest (20%) and highest (33%) rates of high cholesterol, respectively. Chinese adults also had the lowest rate of Type 2 diabetes, at just 5%, compared to 14% for Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander adults.

'High blood pressure ranged from 12% of Chinese adults to a high of 30% among Filipino adults.'

There was a wider disparity in obesity rates, which ranged from 11% in Vietnamese adults to 41% in Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander adults, who also had the highest risk among subgroups for experiencing a heart attack or stroke within 10 years.

"At the individual patient level, our findings along with previous work suggest that regular monitoring of risk factors like blood pressure and cholesterol may be helpful for early detection of increased risk and prevention of cardiovascular disease among Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander populations," study co-author Dr. Alan S. Go said in the news release. Go is an associate director of the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research, Cardiovascular and Metabolic Conditions Research.

Go said a next step for the PANACHE study would be a population-based survey to describe risk factors not routinely available in an electronic health record. These could include immigration history, generational status, employment history, experiences of discrimination, acculturation, diet, physical activity, and access to health care services and other resources that may be unique to each subgroup.

The additional data, Go said, "will help us understand sources of health disparities and inform tailored cardiovascular prevention strategies for AANHPI individuals, both in the clinic and in the community."

Dr. Sadiya S. Khan said in the news release that because cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death for all Americans, "understanding differences among specific population groups can identify gaps in monitoring and management of risk factors, such as obesity, hypertension and Type 2 diabetes."

Khan led the writing group for the AHA's scientific statement on the PREVENT risk calculator in 2023 but was not involved in the new research. She is a preventive cardiologist at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago.

"These findings further underscore that Asian Americans represent a diverse and heterogeneous group, and research should prioritize inclusion and appropriate identification of Asian Americans and various subgroups to improve cardiovascular health for all," Khan said.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X or at the blog Views From the Edge.

Poll: Most AANHPI adults don't support Trump's weakening or cutting federal agencies

Federal workers attend a leadership seminar for Asian American employees.

A majority of AANHPI adults do not like what the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is doing to neuter or eliminate government agencies and fire thousands of federal employees.

A new poll says only 12% of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander  adults support eliminating federal agencies—significantly lower than the 23% of the general population who disapprove the chaos sown by the two-headed beast of Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

“The survey reveals that the frustration AAPI communities have with government bureaucracy does not equate to support for drastic cuts,” says Karthick Ramakrishnan, executive director of AAPI Data and researcher at UC Berkeley.

AANHPI sentiment may be affected by the fact that Asian Americans make up 7.1% of the federal workforce, according to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The survey, released March 13 from AAPI Data and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, shows that  everyday expenses such as the cost of groceries and gas prices still weighs heavily for the AANHPI respondents and needs to be addressed by the Donald Trump administration.

“AAPI communities want the federal government to do more and deliver effectively on key issues like education, health care, homelessness, and environmental protection,” says Ramakrishnan.

The respondents to the poll say Congress should prioritize addressing the costs of health care (79%), food (67%), and housing (61%). About 4 in 10 say the same about the cost of aging and long-term care (45%), childcare (43%), higher education (42%), gas (42%), and home energy (37%).

Many AANHPI adults believe the government is spending too little on a variety of policy areas, with education (64%) and healthcare (59%) topping the list. Similar shares also say funding is insufficient for tackling homelessness (57%), environmental protection (57%), childcare (56%), crime (54%), and drug addiction (48%), according to the survey.

Defense is the only area where relatively few (12%) say spending is too low and about half (52%) believe the government spends too much.

“The data show that amid economic uncertainty, AAPI adults—like much of the U.S. public—are focused on basic necessities,” says Jennifer Benz, deputy director of The AP-NORC Center. “Healthcare, food, and housing costs remain at the forefront of their concerns, reinforcing the importance of economic stability, which has consistently emerged as a major issue for AAPI communities.”

Similar to the general population who were asked in January 2025, AAPI adults show little support for major changes to the federal workforce under Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative. About 4 in 10 AAPI and US adults support a proposal that would bring federal employees back to an office five days a week, roughly a quarter favor moving federal agencies outside Washington, D.C. and cutting a large number of federal jobs.

Other highlights of the survey include:

• As parts of the country grapple with a measles outbreak, about 6 in 10 AAPI adults are concerned that declining vaccination rates will lead to more disease outbreaks (64%) and deaths (61%).

• On immigration policy, 31% of AAPI adults believe local police should always cooperate with federal immigration authorities on deportations, compared to 42% of the general population. More people in both groups support cooperation in some cases (56% vs. 49%), while relatively few say local police should never cooperate with federal authorities (13% vs. 8%).

• About 4 in 10 support increasing green cards for backlogged countries (44%), worker visas (43%), and family-sponsored green cards (40%), though nearly as many prefer to keep current levels unchanged. Student visas receive the least support for expansion at 34%, with half (50%) preferring no change.

• Most Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AAPI) adults think healthcare (79%), food (67%), and housing (61%) costs should be top priorities for the federal government to tackle. Many think that the government spends too little on key priorities, with education (64%) and healthcare (59%) topping the list.

• AAPI adults show little support for major changes proposed by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative. Just 12% of AAPI adults support eliminating federal agencies—significantly lower than the 23% of the general population.

• At least 6 in 10 AAPI adults see corruption (72%), inefficiency (68%), and red tape (61%) as major problems in federal government, indicating that the issues AAPI adults have with government bureaucracy does not equate to support for drastic cuts.

• AAPI adults largely trust doctors (74%) and nurses (72%) to act in their best interest, similar to the general population. And regarding the high cost of healthcare in the U.S., most AAPI adults hold pharmaceutical companies (77%) and private health insurers (73%) responsible.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X or at the blog Views From the Edge.

Bonta leads lawsuit challenging the Dept. of Education mass firings

ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE

California Attorney General Rob Bonta files lawsuit to save the US Department of Education.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta Thursday led a multistate coalition in filing a lawsuit challenging the unlawful mass firing of nearly 50% of all employees at the US Department of Education.

“The Trump Administration’s attempt to gut the Department of Education’s workforce is another step in its end goal of shuttering the department for good,” said Bonta, California's first FIlipino American heading the AG's office.

“In doing so, the Trump Administration ignores the invaluable role the Department of Education plays in ensuring the health, safety, and education of our children — administering programs that assist children from low-income families, providing vocational training, and enforcing anti-discrimination laws, among countless other responsibilities fundamental to our educational system," said Bonta.

The firings is just a step toward's eliminating the entire education department, contends the lawsuit filed by the 21 Attorneys General.

“What’s so troubling here is that the reduction in force is so severe and so extreme that it incapacitates the department from performing statutory functions,” Bonta said during a press conference Thursday morning. “Only Congress can make such drastic changes. Not the agency. Not the president.”

In the lawsuit, the coalition argues that the Trump Administration cannot abolish the Department of Education and cannot disrupt or override — through the mass firings of employees or otherwise — the statutory functions and programs that fall under its purview.

"Dismantling the Department of Education from within would have catastrophic consequences — and like many of the Trump Administration’s actions since taking office, is blatantly illegal. It shouldn’t be too much to ask for a President to follow the law, but for the eighth time in as many weeks, we’ll see him in court.”

On March 11, the Department of Education initiated a reduction in workforce impacting nearly 50% of the Department’s employees, as part of the Trump Administration’s “final mission” to dismantle the Department. Department staff in danger of losing their jobs will be placed on administrative leave beginning Friday, March 21.

When President Trump was inaugurated, the Department’s workforce stood at 4,133 workers. Following the March 11 actions, the Department’s workforce will total roughly 2,183 workers. Included in the reduction in force are nearly 600 employees who accepted voluntary resignation and retirement proposals over the last seven weeks, including 259 employees who participated in the Deferred Resignation Program and 313 employees who accepted the Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment.

In the AGs’ lawsuit, the 21 Attorneys General argue that Trump’s directive to shut down the Department, and the steps taken by the Department and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, who formerly headed the World Wrestling  to implement that directive, are unlawful and cannot stand.

FYI: A copy of the Attorneys General lawsuit is available here.

The coalition establishes that the Trump Administration cannot undo the many acts of Congress that authorize the Department, dictate its responsibilities, and appropriate funds for it to administer. Its attempt to do so through the mass firings violates the separation of powers and the Executive Branch’s obligation to take care that the law is faithfully executed. Further, as the complaint details, these firings exceed the Department’s authority under the law, are arbitrary and capricious, and contrary to law in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act.

Leading the lawsuit with Bonta are Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, and New York Attorney General Letitia James. They are joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin, Vermont, and the District of Columbia.

This lawsuit is the seventh filed by the AG coalition challenging Trump's and his administration's controversial policies and attempts to dismantle the federal government claiming the cuts are necessary for greater efficiency and cost savings.

Federal judge William Alsup in San Francisco Thursday agreed with the AG's in an earlier lawsuit against Trump's federal workforce reduction. The judge ordered the federal government to rehire thousands of workers who were let go the departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, the Interior and the Treasury to immediately offer job reinstatement to employees terminated on or about Feb. 13 and 14.

That decision will be appealed said the White House Thursday afternoon. Trump's Department of Justice will likely appeal all the way to the US Supreme Court with its  conservative majority.

Republicans have long said they want to get rid of the Department of Education entirely and shift some of it's responsibilities to other federal departments as a way to cut back on bureaucracy and save money.

The elimination of the Department of Education is part of the Project 2025 plan prepared for the Trump administration by conservative think tanks backed by multi-billionaires.

According to Project 2025, shutting down the Department of Education would:

• Eliminate Head Start – which provides early learning, health, nutrition, and family support services for nearly 1 million low-income children and their families every year – all as the country undergoes a critical child care crisis. (p. 482)

• Wipe out universal free school meal programs, including summer meal programs. (p. 303)

• Defund public schools – and instead funnels tax-payer dollars to fund unaccountable private schools. (p. 319)

• Phase out Title I Funding –funding for high-poverty schools – which would cut 180,000 teacher positions, by some estimates. (pp. 325-326)

• Eliminate the rights of children with disabilities to receive Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) under IDEA. (p. 326)

"This massive RIF is not supported by any actual reasoning or specific determinations about how to eliminate purported waste in the Department—rather, the RIF is part and parcel of President Trump's and Secretary McMahon's opposition to the Department of Education's entire existence," the lawsuit said.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X or at the blog Views From the Edge.